Ervin out for the season; Arkansas headed for Ole Miss
FAYETTEVILLE – Senior post player Lauren Ervin will not play the rest of the season for the University of Arkansas Lady Razorback basketball team.
Medical tests performed this morning have confirmed that Ervin tore her right anterior cruciate ligament last night in the closing moments of the LSU game.
The 20th-ranked Lady Razorbacks lost to 11th-ranked LSU, 76-54, last night in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.
“First and foremost, we are concerned for Lauren and disappointed for her that this had to happen during her senior year,” UA head coach Tom Collen said. “She has worked so hard this year, and our thoughts are with her.”
Ervin was leading the SEC in rebounds with 11 per game, and was top five in scoring at 16 points per game. The 6-3 post player from Inglewood, Calif., was also ranked nationally in rebounds and blocked shots per game.
“Obviously, I’m disappointed because we had worked so hard as a team to get off to a good start, and now, I’ll just have to work to help the team on the bench,” Ervin said. “Right now, I’m a little in shock about it, but I know that now I’ll have surgery and come back to work with my trainer, Jeremy (Braziel), on the rehab.”
The injury was the first significant injury of the season for Collen’s team, that is now down to 10 players for the rest of the year. One of her teammates, senior captain Sarah Pfeifer, spoke about
“We talked a little bit last night when we did know yet if it was torn, and I told her to be strong and be positive,” sixth-year senior Pfeifer said. “We were a pretty confident team coming into conference play, but a lot of that confidence was in Lauren. Now, we’ll have to turn to each other and rebuild that confidence.”
Pfeifer knows a bit about coming back from injury, with five surgeries in her playing career.
“I draw a lot of inspiration from Sarah, and I see how she’s come back,” Ervin said. “After all her problems, she’s the first one to practice and the last one to leave the weight room.”
Pfeifer suffered a torn ACL during a preseason exhibition game prior to the 2004-05 season. The sixth-year senior received a clock extension from the NCAA due to her two season-ending injuries, one that was preseason and one in the third game.
Ervin has played in too many games this year to seek a medical redshirt, and with her transfers and time spent in college has now finished her five-year competition period.
The Lady Razorbacks travel to Ole Miss on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game. The contest will be televised by Fox Sports Net.
